Austan Goolsbee, appointed last week as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, told "Fox News Sunday' that the nearly two-year-old recession has "put us very deep in the whole."

'It's going to be a long battle to get out of that," he said. "I don't think the unemployment rate will be coming down significantly in the near future."

The nation's jobless rate is currently at 9.6 percent. When pressed, Goolsbee declined to say what that figure may be by year's end--but he did admit he doesn't expect it to decrease. "I don't want to get into specific forecasting," Goolsbee said. "It's clear the labor market is significantly weakened and has been for some time. We have to do everything we can to try to create jobs."

About Me

Lifelong Democrat; Former president, Broward County, Florida Young Democrats; Former member, Broward County, Florida Democratic Executive Committee; Former city commissioner, City of Cooper City, Florida; Graduate, The University of Florida; Practicing attorney, Miami, Florida; Member, The Florida Bar; Member, North American Snowsports Journalists Association; Broward County Young Democrats' Trailblazer of the Year, 1994; Broward County Young Democrats' Young Democrat of the Year, 1996.